Ramanagara (Karnataka), Sep 27 (IANS) Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, on Saturday, lashed out at former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda and his son and Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy for opposing the land acquisition for Greater Bengaluru Integrated Township (GBIT) in Ramanagara district.

Speaking to the media in Ramanagara, Shivakumar responded to queries regarding the opposition to GBIT.

“Why are former Prime Minister H. D. Deve Gowda, Union Minister H. D. Kumaraswamy, and former JD-S MLA A. Manjunath — who are now opposing the Greater Bengaluru Integrated Township (GBIT) in Bidadi in outskirts of Bengaluru — questioning me today, when they had supported the previous BJP-led state government in handing over 900 acres to the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB)? Why didn’t they oppose it back then?” the Deputy Chief Minister asked.

When asked about Deve Gowda protesting against GBIT, he said, “If Deve Gowda wants to protest, I welcome it. But it was his own son (H.D. Kumaraswamy), who issued the notification for this project. It was during their (BJP-JD(S) government’s) time that an agreement was signed for the Bidadi Township, and they even collected money.”

“Why didn’t they (BJP-JD(S) government) denotify this land when they were in power? When former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa allotted the land to KIADB, all the farmers were compensated. That land now legally belongs to KIADB. Why did they support the process then without questioning it?” Shivakumar asked.

Regarding the demand to denotify the land and leave it in its original state, the Deputy Chief Minister said: “I’m not ready to listen to their claims. Our (Congress) government is acting according to the law. Even during Yediyurappa’s time, compensation ranging from Rs 90 lakh to Rs 1 crore per acre was given. If the land was to be left untouched, why wasn’t it done then? Wasn’t Manjunath the MLA at the time? Today, farmers are fully cooperating with this project; there’s no opposition from them.”

When asked about the conflicts surrounding the issue, Shivakumar replied: “There is law and we (Congress government) will act within its framework. I’ve offered farmers a very good deal. If someone says they don’t want the compensation, we’ll deposit the amount in court based on the notification issued earlier.”

“They could have resolved this during their own tenure. I won’t be swayed by brokers or intermediaries. I know who the real farmers are, who the fake ones are, and who the agents are. Should we not release a list of those who received compensation when 900 acres were given to KIADB?”

When asked about the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) R. Ashoka and Deve Gowda joining the protest for political reasons, he said: “Let LoP R. Ashoka come, let Deve Gowda come. I don’t mind their political protest. Even they know the facts.”

“When LoP Ashoka had the authority to sign, why didn’t he denotify the land? Why didn’t Yediyurappa do it? Why didn’t Deve Gowda have his son (H.D. Kumaraswamy) fix the issue? It was their constituency back then. I wasn’t even a Minister at the time. Couldn’t his son (H.D. Kumaraswamy) have said, ‘This isn’t right, let’s stop it?'” Shivakumar asked.

“They didn’t fix it then, and now they want to play politics and point fingers at us. Only the political opponents of Congress MLA HC Balakrishna are protesting today,” he said.

–IANS

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